


digital love

by ZephyrEden



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dancing, El is Elrena wink wonk, F/M, Long-Distance Relationship, Online Dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-08-29 23:24:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16753447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZephyrEden/pseuds/ZephyrEden
Summary: Aqua is Terra's absolute dream girl. Now if only they could meet in person instead of through a screen.





	digital love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [loreleimelodei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/loreleimelodei/gifts).



**_wayfinder is online_ **

The blip of a sound that accompanies the notification is hardly a half-second long, but it jolts through Terra like a lightning strike. He scrambles to get off his bed, textbooks he had been studying until just a few hours ago falling to the ground and nearly taking him down with them. It’s with a few ungraceful hops that he dodges them and makes it to his desk chair, wasting no time as he harshly taps the keyboard to get the screen to light up.

“Breathe,” he reminds himself. He’s halfway through doing so when the words “wayfinder is typing…” pop up and render his lungs useless once again.

**wayfinder: FINALS ARE OFFICIALLY OVER!**

He laughs when the message appears. It’s not like her to talk in all caps. His fingers start typing before he really knows what he’s going to say.

**darkgnaw: same here. it was brutal.**

**wayfinder: I’m sure you did fine.**

**darkgnaw: uhuh. well i’m sure its not anything close to your scores, miss perfect grades**

**wayfinder: Hey, they aren’t perfect. Just almost perfect :P**

His lips instantly curl into grin.

**darkgnaw: same thing**

**wayfinder: Maybe to you.**

**wayfinder: Ugh, I’m sorry that I can’t talk tonight.**

**wayfinder: Or stay on for long.**

Oh. Right.

**darkgnaw: it’s fine**

That’s what he types, at least, but he can’t help the wave of disappointment that crashes against him now that he’s been reminded of it. These conversations are the highlight of his day, he can’t help but be a little sour over the loss of one.

**wayfinder: It’s just that I promised to go to El’s so we could go to this party together and if I bail on her she’ll definitely fry me. Literally.**

He isn’t exactly sure what that means. He doesn’t think he wants to know, either.

**wayfinder: But to make it up to you…**

**wayfinder: _[img sent]_**

**wayfinder: I wanted you to be the first one to see my new dress** **♥**

Terra feels his heart rate pick up immediately. The dress is dark blue and sleeveless with a high collar and a pink ribbon tied around her waist, the ends of it hanging slightly past the mid-thigh hem of the dress itself. But it’s not the dress that gets to him. He already knows she looks amazing in any outfit she wears.

It’s the brightness in her smile and the softness in her eyes. It’s the warmth that spreads through his chest when he sees her, like feeling sunshine for the first time after a harsh winter.

Six months of knowing each other and he still can’t get over every detail about her. Maybe it’s for the best that they haven’t met in person yet. He isn’t sure he’d survive the encounter.

**darkgnaw: you look beautiful, Aqua**

He knows it’s not enough to convey his real feelings, but he isn’t sure he could accomplish that with any amount of words.

**wayfinder: _[img sent]_**

**wayfinder: Thank you, Terra.**

The picture is just of her face now. Purposely messy strands of blue hair curl around her jawline in a way that perfectly frames a playful smile and a wink, her manicured fingers making a victory sign. She’s looks cute. Too cute.

He thinks he might pass out.

**wayfinder: Oh no, El is calling me. I’ve got to go! We’ll video chat tomorrow, I promise.**

**wayfinder: Good night, Terra.**

He only notices the new messages after she’s logged off. He sighs, disappointment heavy in his chest as he replies.

**darkgnaw: good night aqua**

 

 

 

 

“Come on, come on, you’re such a drag.”

Terra rolls his eyes but doesn’t move any faster. “Says the one that literally dragged me out here.” He can’t help but smirk when Vanitas looks back to glare at him.

“It’s the end of the semester, Terra,” Ventus whines beside him. “You haven’t gone out with us in like… two months! That’s basically forever!”

“Yeah, well… classes have kept me busy,” he answers, voice quiet. It’s not a lie, per se. His classes have definitely been harder this term than he’s used to, but it’s less the work and more the increasingly lengthy phone and video calls that have kept him indoors.

Vanitas snorts, “Yeah, I’m sure your girlfriend is a great teacher.”

Terra opens his mouth to snap back but his voice is drowned out by the sound of music pouring out of the warehouse they’re approaching. He’s guessing this is the party he’s been dragged to. He winces immediately when they walk in, the bass thumping so loudly that he can feel it in his eyes and skull. It only takes a moment for Vanitas to spot a group of people he knows, weaving through the crowd towards them as they wave him over.

“Just,” Ventus yells over the music, both pulling down on Terra’s shoulder and stretching up on his tip toes to reach the brunette’s ear. “Just try to have fun, okay?” Ventus gives him a wide grin and two thumbs up before chasing after his other half.

Terra groans. He’s been here for less than a minute and he’s already been ditched. He moves away from the door and the flood of people that keep coming in, sticking near the perimeter of the room as he tries to find a less crowded spot to wait. When those two idiots that brought him here come back, he’s going to-

“Terra?”

He freezes. Just like that, every bone and muscle in his body has grinded to a halt that leaves him tense and rigid. He knows that voice. He knows that voice better than he knows his own voice, like he’s had a couple dozen lifetimes to memorize it. It’s clearer now, though, without the crinkle of static or robotic autotune that bad internet brings.

A hand grasps his shoulder and spins him around like it’s nothing and he knows in that moment that he’ll never taste oxygen again.

It’s her, Aqua, the girl of his dreams standing right in front of him, in person. She looks like every picture she’s sent to him, every hours long video call they’ve shared, everything he could’ve imagined times a thousand. And maybe even then some.

“It is you!” Aqua yells over the music, but she doesn’t need to. Her voice in his ears cuts through all the other noise until he might as well be standing in a silent room. “You didn’t tell me you were coming!”

“I- You-“ He doesn’t know how to respond to that. He doesn’t know how to process any of this. He thought when it came time for their first real meeting, he’d at least have time to prepare. This is the opposite of prepared. “I wasn’t planning on being here,” he finally settles on. What would he have done if he hadn’t have come?

She smiles and his heart beats so fast that he can’t feel it beating at all. “Must be destiny.”

His mouth is dry and he thinks his throat is closing up. “Must be,” he repeats with a nod, voice low. He’s at such a loss that he doesn’t realize she’s pulling him further into the room until they’re in the middle of the dancefloor. “What are you doing?!” he asks in slight panic.

Aqua quirks an eyebrow at him, her expression a mix of play and mischief. “Dancing!” she grins in answer. “You too, come on. Dance with me!”

Terra feels the heat rush to face and has a feeling that even with the horrible colored lighting, Aqua can see his fluster. He shakes his head and tries to take a step back only to run into someone, their cursing incomprehensible when mixed with the music and other noise. “I don’t dance, I-“ he tries to explain, but she grabs hold of both of his hands and pulls him back towards her.

She laces their fingers together, moving up on her tip toes to get into his space. “You do tonight,” she says confidently, a smooth smile stretching across her lips as she looks into his eyes. “Dance with me.”

He doesn’t have a choice in the matter, not when she settles back on her heels and lifts their joined hands into the air. She sways them back and forth, bopping her head and hips to opposite sides to the beat. “Just have fun!” she laughs, letting go of one of his hands so she can spin under his arm.

She spins back and he catches her against his chest and every nerve in his body sparks to life. He laughs without realizing it, their voices melting into the music as they move to its rhythm. They move beside each other, against each other, close together then completely apart. The music never stops, just one seamlessly evolving track that flows into new sounds without missing a beat.

They’re both out of the breath as the music gradually begins to slow to a rate that doesn’t have people jumping to it anymore, everyone slowing down with it.

Despite all the dancing, it’s not until he reaches out that his heart rate truly spikes, a fluttering nervousness in his stomach as his arms slip around Aqua’s waist and back. He holds his breath for half a second, the amount of time it takes for her to melt against him and wrap her arms around his neck.

She closes her eyes, resting her cheek against his chest, and warmth blooms in his skin where she touches. She slowly lifts her head, clear blue eyes raising to look into his. He shivers as her fingertips ghost the sides of his neck, one of her hands moving to gently cup his jaw, her thumb running over his cheekbone. Her eyes flicker down to his lips for just a moment and it’s all the signal he needs.

“Terra…” she mumbles as he leans down to close the distance between them.

_“Terra!”_

Terra jolts awake, already sitting up before his eyes can even open. “What?” he groans, rubbing his eyes and wincing when he opens them. He forgot to close the blinds on his window again, the mid-morning sun warm on his skin and obnoxiously bright to his eyes.

“Your alarm has been going off for fifteen minutes, turn it off before I put it down the disposal.”

The bedroom door is slammed shut and that’s when he remembers. Van and Ven are crashing in the living room of his small apartment, here for another few days after a pipe burst in their shared dorm two days ago. He flops back against his mattress and groans again. “You really are my dream girl, huh?”

He fumbles for his phone and turns the alarm off, squinting at the screen as he taps on his message notifications. There’s two from Aqua, both from late last night.

**wayfinder: The party was fun, but…**

**wayfinder: Definitely would’ve rather spent the night talking to you.**

The corners of Terra’s lips lift and he rubs at his eyes before messaging back.

**darkgnaw: yeah, me too**

**Author's Note:**

> [digital love//daft punk](https://youtu.be/Smi8vAbm_8o)
> 
> [twitter](http://twitter.com/deepseasalt_) | [tumblr](http://deepseasalt.tumblr.com) | [carrd](http://zephyreden.carrd.co)


End file.
